NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Matt Ozanic (East Leyden HS, Franklin Park, Ill.) tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI double in the ninth and Kyle Wise (Geneseo HS, Geneseo, Ill.) knocked in the go-ahead runs with a two-run single in the 10th Sunday as Augustana rallied for a 3-2 win over sixth-ranked North Central at Zimmerman Stadium. Coach Greg Wallace's club also got tremendous pitching efforts from Alec Michaelson (Willowbrook HS, Lombard, Ill.) and John Hayes (Cherry Creek HS, Greenwood Village, Colo.) to improve to 9-2 on the season and 1-2 in the CCIW. The host Cardinals moved to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.
 
The hosts pushed across an unearned run against Augustana starter Michaelson in the third. Colin Weilbacher reached on an error leading off and scored on Justin Rios' RBI double to center. Rios was later cut down trying to score on a Joe Rizzo single. The relay went from Jacob Barker (Windsor HS, Severance, Colo.) in left, to third baseman Alex Simon (Hinsdale Central HS, Naperville, Ill.), to catcher Griffen Pschigoda (Wheaton Warrenville South HS, Wheaton, Ill.), who applied the tag to keep it a 1-0 game.
 
That would be the only run through eight innings.
 
The Vikings threatened in the fourth, getting singles from the first three batters—Simon, Matt Helms (Palatine HS, Palatine, Ill.) and Ozanic. However, North Central catcher Rob Marinec picked a runner off second and Cardinal starter Ryan Behling retired the last two batters to escape unscathed.
 
North Central's big threat came in the eighth. Marinec reached on an error leading off, prompting Wallace to call on his closer—Hayes—in relief of Michaelson. Hayes gave up a single and hit a batter, but struck out the side, leaving the bases loaded.
 
Barker knocked Behling out with a leadoff single in the top of the ninth. Two outs later, Ozanic's double to right center off Patrick Schaefer plated pinch-runner Michael Gattuso (St. Charles North HS, St. Charles, Ill.) with the tying run.
 
Hayes again struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth and the teams went to the tenth.
 
Under international tiebreaker rules, Mitchell Owens (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) was placed at second to start the frame. Pschigoda moved him to third with a bunt single and Brett Benedetti (Cherry Creek HS, Greenwood Village, Colo.) walked to load the bases with no outs. Wallace called on Wise to pinch-hit and the left-handed hitter drove a two-strike offering from Schaefer through the left side to score Owens and Pschigoda and make it 3-1 Augustana. Nicholas Rietz came out of the Cardinal pen and helped them escape further damage.
 
Hayes went back out for the 10th with Marinec placed on second. Shortstop Zachary Vrbancic (Stagg HS, Palos Hills, Ill.) made a diving stop up the middle to retire Rizzo leading off. Paul Beverly then lifted a long fly to right that scored Marinec from third to make it 3-2, but Hayes got Lehnen to ground to Vrbancic to end the game.
 
Michaelson gave up six hits and just the unearned run in seven-plus innings. He walked one and struck out three. Hayes surrendered two hits and fanned six in three innings—allowing only the unearned tiebreaker run—and earned the win in his first decision of the year. Schaefer (0-1) suffered the loss.
 
Wallace's club hosts Elmhurst in a single game at Swanson Stadium/Brunner Field on Wednesday, March 24 at 3:00 p.m.